... outside of Athens, they would be free from Athenian law. Hermia is overjoyed, and they agree to travel to the house the following night. Helena, Hermia's friend whom Demetrius jilted, enters the room, lovesick and deeply melancholy because Demetrius no longer loves her. Hermia and Lysander confide their plan ... to her and wish her luck with Demetrius. They depart to prepare for the following night's journey. Helena remarks to herself that she envies them their happiness. She thinks up a plan: if she tells Demetrius of the elopement that Lysander and Hermia ... refused to let Hermia co...

• Word Count: 4960
• Approx Pages: 20
• Grade Level: High School

... an ultimatum of marrying Demetrious or becoming a nun. However Hermia has a lover, Lysander who plans on running away with her. Demetrious also has a lover, Helena who is determined to impress Demetrious. The fairies of the forest also have a conflict in the play. Oberon and Titania, king and queen of the forest ... throughout the essay. In the beginning of the play the audience is assuming Demetrious and Hermia are going to get married and Lysander and Helena are there to complicate the process. However as the play goes on the audience will realize that is not going to happen. Lysander ...

• Word Count: 1253
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... can transpose to form and dignity. Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, And therefore is winged Cupid painted blind." These are Helena's words as her heart throbs for Demetrius. She wants Demetrius to love her, but he loves Hermia instead. Her reaction is best put in this ... he "errs" as he loves Hermia instead of her. Although spiteful, this is a truthful, realistic response. Diving further into that point, Helena also remarks how although she has this reputation of being fair and beautiful, it doesn't matter because the man she is trying to impress doesn't view ... story...

• Word Count: 1286
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... marry at his aunt''s house outside Athens. When in the woods, Lysander is the first victim of Puck''s love-juice mischief. He falls in love with Helena instantly, and abandons Hermia without a second thought -- treating his former beloved quite cruelly when she asks why he''s done so, and even offering to ... fight a duel with Demetrius when they both end up loving the other woman, Helena. Lysander''s madness is reasonably short-lived however, and he is soon himself again. He marries Hermia, and seems just as reluctant as she is to ... Hermia, nor does she react angrily to Demetrius. R...

• Word Count: 1015
• Approx Pages: 4

... not seem to be strong headed as her loyalties seem to wander in the play. Through her weakness of her love to Demetrius, she betrays her good friend Helena by telling him of the elopement that Hermia and Lysander have planned together. This was acted upon in order to win back Demetrius" love, (Act 1 ... well. This may be because out of all the characters, her character thinks most about the nature of love. This is shown at the beginning of the play where Helena is being left out of the love triangle involving Lysander, Hermia and Demetrius. She says, "love looks not with the eyes, but wi...

• Word Count: 1058
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... not seem to be strong headed as her loyalties seem to wander in the play. Through her weakness of her love to Demetrius, she betrays her good friend Helena by telling him of the elopement that Hermia and Lysander have planned together. This was acted upon in order to win back Demetrius" love, (Act 1 ... well. This may be because out of all the characters, her character thinks most about the nature of love. This is shown at the beginning of the play where Helena is being left out of the love triangle involving Lysander, Hermia and Demetrius. She says, "love looks not with the eyes, but wi...

• Word Count: 1069
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... through fire for her sweet sake. Lysanders emotions toward his one true love, Hermia, had evacuated his heart and now was spilled upon Helena. This sudden, irrational passage of love was all caused by the irresponsibility of the fairies and their special powers. The love-juice had circled the ... had created. Power of infatuation and romantic desire is a third form of power used in Shakespeare's play. We first see this through the character Helena. Helena is in deep love with Demetrius, the king who Egeus wants to exchange vows with Hermia. However, her love went unseen and she could no...

• Word Count: 1738
• Approx Pages: 7
• Grade Level: High School

... says, "Lord what fools these mortals be" (3.2.115). This is in reference to the four young lovers of the play. Lysander, Demetrius, Hermia, and Helena all act foolishly in their quest for eternal love. The risks they take and the eventual adventure they experience in the forest is the direct result of these ... 327-329). He is lucky that the fairies corrected their mistake, or he might have lost Hermia forever. Demetrius is the most confused lover of all. Helena loves him and practically throws herself at him and he wants nothing to do with her. "I love thee not; therefore pursue me not" ...

• Word Count: 958
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... 't confuse Demetrius with anyone else. After this conversation Puck went and placed the love juice on Lysander who was not the disdainful youth Oberon was meaning. Helena later came along and tripped over Lysander while he slept, and Lysander falls in love with her. He awakes saying "And run through fire I will for ... thy sweet sake. Transparent Helena! Nature shows art that through thy bosom makes me see thy heart. Where is Demetrius? Oh how fit a word is that vile name, to perish on ... is now left with strange thoughts of what happened in the forest. Oberon also causes Demetrius to ...

• Word Count: 865
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... him of the elopement that the two have planned. At the given time, Demetrius goes into the woods after his love with Helena in tow. In these woods, we meet our second and third groups of characters, the fairies and the commoners. Composing the fairies are ... will refuse to reverse the charm until she hands over the young indian prince. During their clandestine meeting, Oberon notices Demetrius and Helena coming through the woods with Demetrius acting extremely nasty to Helena. Thinking he could remedy that, he orders Puck to also put some of the juice onto the young man's eyelids so th...

• Word Count: 868
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... foolishly, and the character Bottom states, "O what fools these mortals be". They are foolish because they act like children. Although Lysander, Hermia, Demetrius, and Helena appear grown-up, when they are in love they act foolishly. The four teenage lovers are fools. Demetrius is a fool because he is unaware that his ... love changes through out the play. At the start of the play Demetrius does not love Helena. (II ii,line 188) Demetrius says, "I love thee not, therefore pursue me not." (II ii,line 194) "Hence, get thee gone, and follow ... me no more." In III ii, Demetrius after bein...

• Word Count: 724
• Approx Pages: 3
• Grade Level: High School

... , a midsummer night in Athens. As the scenes change from the royal court of Theseus to the magical wood of Oberon, the four lovers: Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius; the mechanicals: Bottom, Snout, Flute, Snug, Starveling, and Quince; and Titania, queen of the fairies, change as well. The changes that ... discovers Puck's mistake, he reverses the spell, only this time, he shifts Demetrius's original love for Hermia to love and devotion for Helena. With the changes that transpire in the wood, as the result of Puck and Oberon's mischief, the play ends happily for the four lovers. .....

• Word Count: 889
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... you climb up the social ladder, women gain respect - slightly. The other women in the play exert far more influence through their actions and versus their words. For example, Helena and Hermia are most in control when the men are chasing them. As soon as the men realize they have the women, Hermia and ... Helena loose their influence, introducing us to the next of the upper class in the production - the four young lovers. It is important to have an understanding of each of ... the young lovers to fully grasp the story, especially the women. Helena is desperately in love with Demetrius....

• Word Count: 1378
• Approx Pages: 6
• Has Bibliography
• Grade Level: High School

... because true love does not need to be legitimate. There were illegitimate loves in the story. One of the more controversial loves is probably the love between Helena and Demetrius. This was unlike the other loves in the novel in the fact that complete love was not mutual, yet it still was present. What I ... the contrary, Demetrius told her that he could not stand to look at her face. What emotion was shown in that scene; because of such things that Helena, Demetrius almost felt obligated to love her back. She loved him so much, but he had nothing but anger to give back. For this is the ....

• Word Count: 547
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... center of ancient Greek civilization. The darkness of the night is intensified in the forest; the dark is intense enough for the characters to fear being alone. Helena cries out to Demetrius not to abandon her "darkling", or in the dark (Act II, Scene 2, 85). When Lysander abandons Hermia, she is convinced ... uses imagery to emphasize the significance of the sense of sight and its relation to love; the language of love relies heavily on sight imagery. Helena claims that real love has little to do with the eyes and that the gaze of the mind gives love its true shape, but even in making ....

• Word Count: 1261
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... center of ancient Greek civilization. The darkness of the night is intensified in the forest; the dark is intense enough for the characters to fear being alone. Helena cries out to Demetrius not to abandon her "darkling", or in the dark (Act II, Scene 2, 85). When Lysander abandons Hermia, she is convinced ... uses imagery to emphasize the significance of the sense of sight and its relation to love; the language of love relies heavily on sight imagery. Helena claims that real love has little to do with the eyes and that the gaze of the mind gives love its true shape, but even in making ....

• Word Count: 1268
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... out the true natural instincts of the people while they are in the woods, with it being night time the atmosphere seems uncertain and unstable. Helena tells Demetrius of Helena and Lysander's plan to run away in hopes to win his heart, again. She and Demetrius follow them into the woods. While in there ... they are all bewitched by the fairies and thrown into a triangle that switches the eyes of the men from Hermia to Helena. Thinking it is all a cruel joke Helena runs away. While the fairies sit back and watch all these things happen they have their own battles going on. The fairy king...

• Word Count: 577
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... of the characters are the four young Athenian lovers in the play are pretty much interchangeable characters. Shakespeare's seems to have deliberately avoided developing Hermia, Helena, Lysander, and Demetrius as unique characters. Is this a commentary on the fact that love makes everyone a fool and a person in love needs no ... other explanation? At the end of the play the issues between the young lovers all seem resolved. Demetrius now loves Helena, and Lysander returns to his original love for Hermia. Still, we know the Demetrius remains enchanted, and that Hermia watched Lysander bet...

• Word Count: 1140
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... is sleeping. When the person awakens, he or she will fall in love with the first person they see. The first love transformation occurs when Lysander awakens to Helena, his soon-to-be wife's good friend (Act II, scene ii, lines 103-107). The second transformation occurs when Titania awakens to see Bottom, who ... of the play, both Demetrius and Lysander were in love with Hermia, although she was only in love with Lysander (Act I, scene i, lines 22-45). Helena, was in love with Demetrius, but he did not like heart all (Act II, scene i, lines 188-194). By the middle of Act II, because ... ...

• Word Count: 542
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... magic flower used by the sprite Puck. Oberon, king of the Fairies, sends Puck for the flower to satisfy his personal whims and to also aid Helena and her helpless devotion to Demetrius. This magic flower, when applied to the eyes of a slumbering person, causes that person to fall madly in Love ... consents to Oberon's wish. Puck is also directed to apply the flower to Demetrius, the object of Helena's affection. Puck, in his characteristically blundering fashion, applies the flower to Lysander, the Love of Helena's friend Hermia. After realizing his mishap, Puck applies the flower to Dem...

• Word Count: 485
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... magic flower used by the sprite Puck. Oberon, king of the Fairies, sends Puck for the flower to satisfy his personal whims and to also aid Helena and her helpless devotion to Demetrius. This magic flower, when applied to the eyes of a slumbering person, causes that person to fall madly in Love ... consents to Oberon's wish. Puck is also directed to apply the flower to Demetrius, the object of Helena's affection. Puck, in his characteristically blundering fashion, applies the flower to Lysander, the Love of Helena's friend Hermia. After realizing his mishap, Puck applies the flower to Dem...

• Word Count: 466
• Approx Pages: 2
• Grade Level: High School

... her father to become engaged to Demetrius. Lysander and Hermia decide to escape from Athens that very evening, and tell Hermia's very good friend Helena of their plan. Helena, in a desperate attempt to make Demetrius fall in love with her, tells him of the two lovers plans ... , in a delightful twist, Puck places daps from a flower over the eyes of the sleeping lovers, and accidentally causes both Lysander and Demetrius to fall in love with Helena, and no longer desire Hermia. In another scene, there is a rehearsal-taking place for a play that Nick Bottom and his friends will have to act...

• Word Count: 901
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School

... Lee and Dereck Townsend played the first set of lovers, Hermia and Lysander. Elena Shokhina and Baris Erhan played the second set of lovers, Helena and Demetrius. Some other important characters were Thesus, played by Aaron Orlowski, Hypolita, played by Clarice Geissel, Oberon, played by Kyu Dong Kwak ... In the final portion of the first act a series of pas de deux are performed between Hermia, Lysander, Helena, and Demetrius. Their tangled web of love is shown as Helena displays her affection for Demetrius, while Demetrius expresses his love for Hermia, and while Hermia and Lysander pr...

• Word Count: 1146
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... She is in fact quite domineering. This inexorably rubs off onto Theseus. Also with the two different sides of love are the lovers themselves. Helena is rather cynical about love. Because her lover, Demetrius, has recently rejected her, she is sceptical when she is actually loved. This is due ... result of Puck's oversight, and pouring the love juice into Lysander's eyes instead of Demetrius's eyes, "Wherefore was I to this keen mockery born?- Helena actually thinks that everybody is scheming against her, "I see you all are bent to set against me for your merriment."" Lysander and Hermia...

• Word Count: 1370
• Approx Pages: 5
• Grade Level: High School

... reflected in Act Four. Earlier in the play, we have already been introduced to the interchangeability of the characters. Lysander and Demetrius, Helena and Hermia, each of them switches roles and becomes the other person. One of the primary ways that Shakespeare indicates maturity is to ... it is necessary for them to become distinct from one another. After all, Lysander and Demetrius have been able to shift their love the Helena without noticing any difference whatsoever. Perhaps the most famous line from A Midsummer Nights Dream is when Puck remarks, "Lord, what fools these mortals ....

• Word Count: 922
• Approx Pages: 4
• Grade Level: High School